the house is nearly perfect-- the location is great. 10 min drive to work, 5-10 min walk to the train station which is on a line that goes directly to shinjuku, 3 min walk to a big japanese grocery store, on a hill so there's a bit of a view, on a super small street in a neighborhood so not much traffic going by unless they're neighbors... the inside is huge by japanese standards- 1910 sq ft. four bedrooms, two of which are tatami style rooms- see below. heated toilet seats onboth the upstairs and downstairs toilets- this is a key feature as japanese homes don't have central heat. decent size kitchen with lots of storage. nice japanese-style bathtub- you sit down and the water goes up to your neck. a cool front yard with a little pond that has goldfish in it. lots of storage space inside and outside the house. two verandas on the second floor. and the landlord takes care of all landscaping except the grass-- good thing because that's a lot of shaped bushes and trees! neither J nor i have anything close to miyagi-san-style bonsai tree sculpting skills and the poor bushes and trees would definitely not be pretty if left up to us to maintain...
pretty much everything and more that i was hoping to have in our home here. can't wait to have visitors! and i pick up the super fly mini cooper i bought next monday. sadly the one with plaid interior didn't have AC-- definitely a deal breaker. so the black one it is. ultimately, the black and white will go better with more of my outfits and vinyl seats will definitely be easier to keep clean. hehe.
i thought i was going to get it today but apparently they do a whole tune up on the car before they release it. works for me. i'm pretty sure this puppy is going to come back to the states with us when we head back! i love it and i love driving it even more.
